Hotel Garden - Levanto, Italy     

If you ever decide to go to Italy's Cinque Terre, base yourself in the delightful little town of Levanto and stay at the Hotel Garden. This lovely little boutique hotel is my idea of what every little hotel should aspire to. As someone commented earlier, do not be put off by the very ordinary exterior, the owners have done an amazing job in transforming the place into clean, comfortable and attractive accommodation. Breakfast is delicious, cappucino available at no extra cost, broadband free, parking free. It was so nice to be looked after by the charming staff, specially the gentlemen at reception - Damiano and Davide - who were on hand to answer any query. Even if Levanto was a tiny town it had a lot of great restaurants (Osteria Tumelin was our favourite!), beautiful beach and an assortment of little interesting shops. The train station was a 10 minute walk and from there, it was a short trip to the 5 villages, as well as Sta. Margherita, Portofino, etc... This is a definite example of not having to spend loads of euros for wonderful accommodation!

Knew that we had made a good choice, when Davide proved to be so helpful via email when I was making enquiries and booking. We are so glad we stayed in Levanto which is beautiful & picturesque, easy to get to and not quite as tourist heavy as the other villages, it just feels a bit more relaxed. We were so happy when we entered Hotel Garden, it scores on all points. The staff are helpful and friendly (ask them which restaurants to go to) the rooms are large, clean, well decorated with great bathrooms. The breakfast was fantastic, typical European but better quality and more selection and our room had a little balcony overlooking the square. Free internet access and a variety of channels in English, which proved to be useful as we stayed in some unseasonally cold and wet weather so had to retire to the room a bit more than we would have liked to. Downstairs on the corner is great gelato and the station is a 10 minute stroll with regular trains to the other villages. After a day of walking and being trampled by large tour groups, Levanto and Hotel Garden were a great respite. We would heartily recommend to anyone visiting Cinque Terre.